Toyota, Siemens and a lot of lithium: A look at NC’s 5 largest job announcements of 2023

After a record-setting 2022, North Carolina’s business recruitment was quieter in 2023.

Companies this year pledged to create 14,114 jobs statewide, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office, down from 38,300 announced jobs the prior year. In 2022, several state-backed projects each promised more than 1,000 new jobs, yet over the past 12 months, only one topped this threshold.

A handful of 2023’s largest announced projects involved a particular element, lithium, which is a critical component in electric vehicle batteries. Under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, at least half of a vehicle’s electric vehicle battery components must be produced in the United States to quality for a federal tax credit — a requirement that will eventually rise to 100%.

North Carolina has been a benefactor of this battery shift, and the state has drawn manufacturers with cheaper electricity, ample land, good railway access, and low unionization rates.

While history shows most state-backed economic projects don’t achieve their initial hiring goals, here’s a review of the state’s five largest job announcements in 2023, starting with the biggest of them all.

Toyota, 3,000 jobs

Toyota’s big incoming lithium-ion battery in Randolph County got even bigger this fall when the Japanese company announced it would add another 3,000 jobs and $8 billion to the site already under construction.

The future facility is now expected to cost $13.9 billion and employ 5,000 workers in total. Toyota said it will add eight battery production lines to the six the company had previously planned.

“It just continues to grow based on what we believe in the next five to 10 years we are going to need for the customer,” said Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina President Sean Suggs during a press conference at the 1,800-acre site near the town of Liberty, about 20 miles southeast of Greensboro.

Before the most recent announcement, Toyota was poised to receive around $439 million in state and local incentives in the form of payroll tax breaks if it meets its minimum investment and job creation targets by 2029. With more jobs, the carmaker is eligible for additional incentives worth another $225 million.

Toyota plans to ship its first batteries from the site in January 2025.

Siemens Mobility, 506 jobs

In March, the German company Siemens Mobility committed to building a passenger rail vehicle manufacturing plant in the Davidson County city of Lexington. Siemens pledged to employ just over 500 workers at the $220 million facility by 2029.

It will be the company’s second U.S. passenger vehicle plant and its first outside of California.

“The expansion will provide additional capacity to meet anticipated growth in demand, provide facilities for maintenance and servicing for the Eastern region,” said Mark Poole, finance director for the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

North Carolina’s incentive package for the Siemens plant is worth $16.8 million, while local incentives from Davidson County and the city of Lexington total an additional $16.1 million.

Epsilon Advanced Materials, 500 jobs

Epsilon Advanced Materials, a lithium-ion battery manufacturer from India, announced this fall it will create 500 jobs at its first U.S. factory near Wilmington.

The plant in Brunswick County will produce graphite anode material, which is used for energy storage and electric vehicles. Epsilon Advanced Materials expects to hire its workers between 2026 and 2028 at an average minimum wage of around $62,260.

In an interview with The News & Observer, Epsilon Advanced Materials CEO Sunit Kapur said power availability and the site’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean were “major drivers” in the selection. The factory will occupy the Mid-Atlantic Rail Industrial Park, a megasite within 20 miles of the Port of Wilmington.

The total state incentive package could be worth more than $19.4 million, The N&O previously reported. Local incentives offered by Brunswick County and other partners total another $14 million. Some state spending includes $1 million to the community college system for job training and millions for infrastructure from the Golden Leaf Foundation, the N.C. Department of Transportation and the N.C. Department of Commerce.

Bosch, 400 jobs

Late in the spring, the power tool maker Bosch agreed to add 400 jobs in a $130 million expansion of its North American facility outside of Charlotte in Lincoln County. Bosch will produce power tool accessories at the new 325,000-square-foot site.

The state offered $2.7 million in taxpayer incentives to Bosch, paid over 12 years if the company meets certain annual hiring and investment targets. The company opened its Lincolnton site in 1960.

The jobs will pay an average annual salary of $53,204, exceeding Lincoln County’s average wage of $49,332, according to the N.C. Department of Commerce, The Charlotte Observer reported.

Dai Nippon Printing, 352 jobs

This fall, the Japanese company Dai Nippon Printing announced it also would bring lithium-ion battery production to North Carolina. The company promised to create 352 jobs at a new facility in Davidson County, about 50 miles northeast of Charlotte.

The facility will focus on making lithium-ion battery pouches, a distinct style of lithium-ion batteries that serve as alternatives to harder cylindrical cell designs. Dai Nippon Printing anticipates hiring between 2026 and 2029 with a minimum average wage of $50,281.

The announcement came a month after Gov. Roy Cooper and North Carolina delegates traveled to Japan for an economic conference with the stated goal of recruiting more Japanese industries.

The state’s $3.8 million incentive package to the company includes potential tax benefits over a 12-year period as well as funding for community college training and from the N.C. Department of Transportation. The tax benefits, paid through payroll tax rebates, will only be realized after DNP meets certain annual hiring targets. Davidson County awarded DNP a separate incentive deal worth $1.85 million.

The Tokyo-based company plans to invest $233 million at the Davidson site by the end of 2030.

Honorable Mention, Kempower (306 jobs*)

Kempower, a Finnish designer and maker of electric vehicle chargers, plans to create at least 306 jobs at its new Durham facility within the next five years, according to the company’s incentive agreement with the state.

*But Kempower has said it hopes to employ around 600 workers at the facility by 2030.

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